Wine & Tapas – Saturday, June 14 at 7 p.m.

Posted on June 4, 2014 by BAIN Downtown

Time to join friends for an evening of wine, tapas, and conversation.

Location: Villa Crespo – Exact address provided upon RSVP
Date: Saturday, June 14th
Time: 7:00 p.m.

How does it work? Bring wine, finger food, and your sparkling self to join other BAIN members and friends in a night of socializing and making new friends. We look forward to catching up with you!

Please email RSVPs to walcotth2@gmail.com
The address will be sent to you via email response.

New to Buenos Aires? New to BAIN Downtown, or is this your first Wine & Tapas? It’s easier than you think! One of our members has graciously opened their doors to create a social environment for any BAIN member interested in attending.

If you are interested in becoming one of these fabulous hosts or if you have any questions about the event, please contact Linda Talluto

*This event is limited to current BAIN Downtown members only. If you are interested in becoming a member of BAIN Downtown, please contact bain.downtown@gmail.com*

Dinner – Thursday, June 5

Posted on May 30, 2014 by BAIN Downtown

Thursday, June 5 at 9 p.m.

This month we reintroduce BAIN restaurant dinner functions, which have at times been monthly events. The idea is to try different well recommended restaurants around town. Sometimes we go fancy, sometimes simple. Given the size of the group (often 10 to 20 people) a fixed price menu with some options is pre-negotiated by the event coordinator and the price announced to potential attendees in advance.

Jim Isaacs, who has hosted a number of these events, will be in charge this month, with a new dinner director coming in for July. For this event, Jim has selected Dale Perejil al Toro, a Norteño (north Argentina/Andean) influenced parilla in Villa Crespo. The restaurant is owned by the former head chef of a very fine Palermo restaurant. Jim reports that prices are low for the quality of the food served, and that the venue is quite beautiful, with the main eating area located in the living room of a traditional (1920?) Argentine house with 20 foot high ceilings.

Pictures and reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g312741-d2371017-Reviews-Dale_perejil_al_Toro-Buenos_Aires_Capital_Federal_District.html

We will share salads and a bell pepper, egg and rice appetizer. A small supply of (sustainable, farm raised) caiman (S. American alligator) milanesas will be ordered too, for the adventurous to try out! Thereafter you will have a choice of pork shoulder (highly recommended; recipe brought with owner from 4 star restaurant), grilled chicken (moist and good per taste test team) or vegetarian/squash ravioli with cream sauce (also quite good). Multiple side dishes including Norteño humita (sweet corn stew) will be on the table for all to enjoy, and doggie bags may well be needed. Dessert options will be chocolate cake, ice cream or fruit salad.

The event price is $ 230 per person, inclusive of a half-bottle of wine and a soda or mineral water per person. Start time is 9:00 p.m.; that is early for Argentina, but many of our members get up early in the morning to go to work and we try to run on a schedule. Exact change appreciated but not required.

Address: Dale Perejil at Toro, Av Estado de Israel 4483, Villa Crespo.

RSVP to jisaacs61@hotmail.com – space is limited.

Social Meeting, Friday, May 30 at 6 p.m.

Posted on May 10, 2014 by BAIN Downtown

BAIN Downtown members are invited to join in this month’s Strictly Social meeting. We’re meeting at the Melía Recoleta Plaza Boutique Hotel, Posadas 1557, Recoleta.

This social event will start at 6.00 p.m. BAIN will provide appetizers and there will be 2 for 1 drinks available.

Location: Melía Recoleta Plaza Boutique Hotel, Posadas 1557, Recoleta.
(Go from the front entrance to the rear of the hotel, and up the stairs.)

Date and Time: Friday, May 30 at 6.00 p.m.

Program: Conversation! Meet someone new! Bring friends and introduce them to BAIN! We will provide light appetizers and finger food while you enjoy the 2 for 1 beverage specials.

Fees: BAIN Downtown members -– no charge
Guests and BAIN Suburbs members – AR$50*
*If you join BAIN Downtown at the meeting, your guest fee is waived.
(The fee to join BAIN for a year’s membership is AR$250)

Morning Coffee – Wednesday, May 20, 10.30 – noon

Posted on May 10, 2014 by BAIN Downtown

Morning Coffee is back!!

Join us for Morning Coffee, conversation and fun! Meet old friends and make new ones.

This month’s coffee will be on Wednesday, May 20th from 10:30 a.m. until noon in Recoleta.

Address will be provided upon RSVP.

We look forward to seeing you!

Please RSVP to estudio_sabatini@fibertel.com.ar

Language Exchange Group – Every Thursday at 1 p.m.

Posted on April 23, 2014 by BAIN Downtown

After taking a two week break, the Language Exchange Group is meeting again.

Interested in practicing your Spanish? Or English? Join in on the great language exchange that BAIN offers! The Language Exchange Group meets every Thursday at 1 pm, covering an extensive range of topics. We aim for a lively discussion to create a rewarding, enlightening, and most importantly, fun experience for English and Spanish speakers.

Interested in joining in on the next discussion? Contact Beatriz Laurnagaray at beatrizlaurnagaray@gmail.com for venue information.

Book Group — May 15, 2014

Posted on April 18, 2014 by BAIN Downtown

Come enjoy an evening coffee (or wine) along with some lively discussion at BAIN’s May Book Club meeting!

This month we are reading The Buddha in the Attic (2011) by Julie Otsuka, a book that grapples with the migration of Japanese picture-brides to the U.S. in the early 1900’s, and has won a number of literary prizes. The book, as always, is available electronically.

Book: The Buddha in the Attic (2011) by Julie Otsuka

Day: Thursday, 15th May

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: Café Antonia, located inside the Libros de Pasaje bookstore in Palermo.

Address: Thames 1762

RSVP: loucrie@yahoo.com (Julia) – We will be calling the café the day before to reserve a large table for all of us, so please let us know to include you.

Please feel free to join us even if you don’t manage to read the book.

Important Note: We will dedicate the last 15-20 minutes of this meeting to selecting three booksto read from July to September. If you have a book to suggest to the group, please note the title and a description or review (either your own, if you’ve read the book, or from a place like Amazon, if you haven’t) so we can decide collectively which books we would like to read next.

For those who like to prepare ahead, our June book has already been set:

June: Please Look After Mom (2009, in English 2011) by Kyung-Sook Shin

A Korean best-seller about a family’s search for their mother who vanishes one day in the crowds of the Seoul Station subway.

If you have any questions about the titles or meetings of the Book Club, please contact me at loucrie@yahoo.com

Hope to see you all next month,

Julia

April Monthly Meeting — April 25, 2014

Posted on April 17, 2014 by BAIN Downtown

Join us at the Monthly Meeting at ICANA on Friday, April 25 at 5 p.m.

This meeting is your chance to learn a little something about folk music artists dear to the hearts of all Argentines — Atahualpa Yupanqui, Ariel Ramirez, Eduardo Falú, Jaime Torres, Mercedes Sosa. You will hear songs by the greats, look at the lyrics in Spanish and in English. Get to know folk groups — Los Chalchaleros, Los Cantores de Quilla Huasi, Los Fronterizas, Los Cantores del Alba. A special rendition of her favorites by Elizabeth Harris will be the final pluck to your heart strings.

The meeting starts at 5 pm at ICANA, Maipú 672, upstairs in the meeting room

Followed at about 7 pm by a social at Francesca, a cafe/bar in the Galerías Pacifíco, Florida 737.

Please join us.

Location: ICANA, Maipú 672 (between Viamonte and Tucumán) in the City Center, on the ground floor in the library.

Date: Friday, April 25

Time:

5:00 p.m. – members and guests begin to arrive

5:30 p.m. – the program begins

7:00 p.m. – (approximately) – after-meeting social at Francesca, Galerías Pacifíco, Florida 737

Program: An Introduction to Argentine Folk Music

Fees: BAIN Downtown members – no charge

Non-members/Guests – AR$50

We look forward to seeing you on Friday the 25th!

Monthly Luncheon — April 23, 2014

Posted on April 17, 2014 by BAIN Downtown

Please note the new luncheon day – Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Place: El Imparcial, phone 4383-2919

Time: Wednesday, April 23 at 12:30 pm

Location: Hipolito Yrigoyen 1201 (esq. Salta) – Monserrat

Buenos Aires, Argentina (El Centro)

Cost: 120 pesos (tip, non-alcoholic beverage and cover included)

correct change will be appreciated

Please RSVP to Michael Weldon at mweldon213@yahoo.com or 4815-4660

Our destination this month is a Spanish restaurant and following is a bit of history surrounding my choice.

While in Plymouth, England, my wife and I shared a pint of ale at the oldest pub in the city. The Minerva Inn, which opened in 1540, had Sir Francis Drake as a neighbor. Drake supposedly bought a round of drinks there for his officers on July 19, 1588 before sailing that evening with the tide and 55 ships to face the Spanish Armada.

Spain was at the height of its power in 1588 but the defeat of the Spanish Armada, sent to invade England, saw the beginning of a slow decline. Even though gold and silver were flowing into Spain (In the 16th century alone 150,000 kilograms of gold and 7.4 million kilograms of silver were shipped to Spain from the New World) the Spanish kings faced financial problems largely because of the cost of fighting wars.

Between the 15th and 19th centuries, the Spanish Empire was the sole colonial power in the territories that became Argentina after the1816 Argentine declaration of independence. Thus, before 1816, a great part of the European settlers in Argentina were from Spain and between 1857 and 1960, more than 2.5 million Spanish people emigrated to Argentina.

In my search for the oldest restaurant in Buenos Aires it should come as no surprise that it would turn out to be a Spanish restaurant. . El Imparcial opened in 1860 and has been a mainstay of the Spanish community ever since. Its popularity can be traced to the original purpose of the place – a neutral, “impartial”, eatery where the multiple Spanish political factions of the time could meet to discuss the business of the day over the white tablecloth of truce.

The food at El Imparcial is very traditional and the prix fixe menu offers two different three course lunch options, each with a half dozen appetizers, main courses, and desserts, for a respective 90 and 100 pesos – we will be choosing from the 90 peso menu which includes a non-alcoholic beverage. Although not on the luncheon menu you might plan a return visit to try the Puchero which is reputed to be the finest in the city!

by Michael Weldon